Flanagan says city moving ahead with foreclosure of 12 properties

Mayor Will Flanagan said the city is moving ahead with foreclosure proceedings on 12 properties owned by out-of-town landlord David Colville, who owes more than half a million dollars in unpaid water and tax bills.

“I am very committed to see this from start to finish,” Flanagan said. “This is a top priority, to crack down on absentee landlords.”

Mayor Will Flanagan said the city is moving ahead with foreclosure proceedings on 12 properties owned by out-of-town landlord David Colville, who owes more than half a million dollars in unpaid water and tax bills.

“I am very committed to see this from start to finish,” Flanagan said. “This is a top priority, to crack down on absentee landlords.”

Colville, of Weymouth, owns 36 low-income rental properties around the city, but according to Corporation Counsel Elizabeth Sousa, 12 of the properties are currently in arrears.

Sousa said her legal department has identified that 29 of his properties have mortgages with three banks: Bank 5, Rockland Trust and Sharon Credit Union. None of the properties with Bank 5 is behind in tax payments because the payments are in escrow.

The city’s foreclosure on Colville’s properties will take the case to Land Court and could take up to six to nine months to complete, Sousa said. New Bedford attorney Matthew Thomas is handling the foreclosure proceedings, and Sousa said she’s asked him to try to expedite the matter.

If the city is successful with foreclosing on Colville’s 12 properties and auctions them off at the cost of back taxes owed, Flanagan said the banks that hold the mortgages on the buildings could be looking at losing a substantial amount of money.

Flanagan said that’s why he met with bankers from Bank 5 and Rockland Trust on Tuesday to apprise them of Colville’s status with the city.

Flanagan said he suggested to the bankers that they foreclose on the properties and sell them at a short sale. He said he will meet with the bankers in a few days.

“They may not have wanted to hear it, but it had to be said. ... I hit them with a lot of information, and I hope they do the right thing,” Flanagan said.

Flanagan admitted it’s not the ideal situation for the city to own property, but his administration has handled several tax sale foreclosures in the past. Once the foreclosure process is complete, Flanagan said the properties will go up for auction with a minimum bidding price being the amount of money owed in outstanding taxes.

Asked what would become of the tenants living in those properties, Flanagan said the last thing the city wants is to evict people, and properties could be auctioned “as is” including the tenants.

“We have two goals: to collect the back taxes and transfer the properties to responsible owners,” Flanagan said.

Colville’s problems with the city began June 19 when the city abruptly condemned and boarded two apartment buildings he owns on County Street, leaving 41 people dislocated. The two buildings at 265 and 267 County St. in the Flint section of the city have had a long history of criminal activity. According to city documents, Colville owes more than $8,000 in back taxes and water bills.

Page 2 of 2 -
On July 11, Colville’s boarding house at 372 Pine St. was temporarily spared being shuttered after another city inspection, but days later the Fall River Licensing Board revoked his lodging house license during a special hearing. It was permanently shuttered last Friday leaving several residents homeless.

Last week, the administration confirmed they were proceeding with foreclosure on the properties for which he owes back taxes.

Colville, in an interview with The Herald News, said the economic downturn in the past seven years resulted in his tenants losing jobs, and they are unable to pay the rent. He explained that the deplorable conditions at some of his properties are not the fault of his tenants but of drug dealers that have invaded his rental properties.

Flanagan said his office continues to receive complaints from tenants in other rental properties Colville owns, and said those properties will be reviewed “on a case-by-case” basis.

One property the administration and the Fall River Police Department have their sights on is on Hargraves Street, where Flanagan said is the suspected headquarters of a local gang.